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Striker (comic)
Striker is a comic strip and former magazine which has been featured in the tabloid newspaper The Sun since 1985, aside from two intervals between 2003 and 2005 (when it was an independent magazine) and September, 2009 to January, 2013 (when it was unpublished, apart from a nine-month run in the British magazine Nuts). It was created by Pete Nash. Since its inception, the strip has revolved around the life of striker Nick Jarvis, who began his career as an apprentice footballer with First Division side Thamesford, before joining Warbury Warriors in 1994 as player/manager. The club were then a non-league side and Nick eventually led them to the Premier League. Several promotions and relegations have followed since then. Although Warbury won the European Champions League in 2009 (beating Chelsea) they have never actually won the Premier League. Although Warbury Warriors is a fictitious team (as was Thamesford) the comic strip features them playing against real teams and players from England's Premier League and Football League every week. Unusually for a comic strip, the players and characters generally age in real time. Nick's own playing career was ended in 2003 by a shark attack off Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. In May, 2013, with Warbury in Division 2, Nick briefly made a playing comeback at the age of 45 to help them reach promotion to the Championship. History ;Publication: The strip first appeared in Britain's Sun newspaper on November 11, 1985, in a black-and-white pen and ink format, changing to colour in 1990. It retained the drawn style until 1998, when it was relaunched as Striker VR in a 3D-rendered format. While praised for its new style (3D-rendered art was rare at the time), Nash was not satisfied with the results and for the rest of the year reverted to the drawn format, with John Cooper temporarily taking over as artist while Nash remained as writer. The 3D format returned in early 1999, with the strip renamed Striker 3D. The strip's popularity was evident; by 2001, all but two of The Sun's other comic strips had been dropped to allow space for the enlarged Striker. In late 2003, Striker broke away from The Sun and became its own magazine. While it still maintained a loyal fan base, it was not stocked by many larger retailers and it suffered from financial problems throughout its run. It nearly folded in mid-2004 but was saved by a share issue to its readers, who contributed nearly £200,000. The magazine lasted for another year before ceasing production in 2005. In the meantime The Sun replaced Striker with its own 3D football strip, called The Premier. The Premier was derided for its poor-quality art (which was initially compared unfavourably to Striker VR, although it later improved somewhat) and predictable, ludicrous story lines. In October, 2005, after an uncertain few months (when strips from the comic appeared in the Daily Record), it was agreed to bring Striker back to The Sun (replacing The Premier). Striker's return to The Sun was to last for four years until September, 2009. In January, 2010, Striker appeared as a full-page comic strip in the weekly UK lads' magazine Nuts, running for nine months. From late 2010 to the end of 2012, it was unpublished. Striker returned to The Sun for a second time on January 7, 2013. It now appears seven days a week. ;The Thamesford Years : ;Warbury era: Characters Nick Jarvis is the main character of the strip. Li Ming Wong is the owner of Warbury Warriors, in her second spell in the role, having originally brought it from Eric Openshaw in 2006, and then Sheikh Mustapha Futti Khalub in 2013. After an attempt on her life by her brother a few months after buying the club, she spent the next two years mostly running her late father's businesses, but returned to the club to take an active role during the season which saw them win the European Cup. She attempted to bankrupt the club following the breakdown of her relationship with Nick, though she re-purchased the club four years later and the two rekindled their romance, despite Nick still not entirely trusting her. Eric Openshaw is the club's chief executive. He made his fortune from a pork factory, where he started as a carcass-griller. He was forced to sell the factory to raise money for the club's second stadium in 1997. Eric has a strong northern accent. He often seems like a buffoon. Openshaw is tight with his money, and argues with Jarvis over his unwillingness to pay for players. He questioned his son Todd's paternity; after discovering his true parentage, he attempted to divorce his wife Vanessa and met a woman his own age, Doris, though quickly took Vanessa back due to Doris's voracious sexual appetite. After spending three years out of the game, he attempted to buy back Warbury Warriors in 2013 (largely because Vanessa was nagging him to spend less time around the house), and while Li Ming outbid him, she swiftly re-employed Eric in his former Chief Executive role. Vanessa Openshaw is Eric's wife. She has cheated on him with Nick and most of the team, making little secret of the fact that she married Eric for his money. As a result of a liaison with Nick she conceived a son, Todd. She told Eric that he was the father, although the baby shared neither Vanessa's nor his hair colour and their sex life was almost nil. Eventually, Eric discovered the truth, leading to their marriage temporarily breaking down. Despite still being married to Eric, and Nick being in a relationship with Li Ming, Vanessa makes little secret of the fact that Nick is the man she truly desires. Celia Montgomery is a relationship counsellor who counselled Fabian de Guisson and Vanessa Openshaw in February and March 2007. After mediating between Fabian and Vanessa, Celia asked to see each of them separately. During her first session with Fabian he came on to her, prompting her to scream for help and accuse Fabian of sexually harassing her. The case was dismissed when Fabian's lawyer lied that he had acted as he had because of a mental condition, and Fabian spent time in a mental hospital. Montgomery reappeared at the Gasworks Road stadium in September 2007 as the club's sports psychologist, continuing to appear in that role for the next three years. When the strip relaunched in 2013, it was revealed that Sheikh Mustapha Futti Khalub laid her off shortly after sacking Nick, and she has not been seen since. Dave Boreham is Nick's assistant. He had an undistinguished playing career, the highlight of which was nearly winning promotion to Division Two with Newport County in 1983. Dave has managed the team on a few occasions, including in 2002–2003 when Nick quit and again when Nick was jailed for Gary Lewis' apparent murder in 2005. Dave has a beautiful daughter named Alex, who worked as a lap dancer. Rufus Lebonque is the side's first-choice goalkeeper. Nick spotted him in Haiti after his holiday in Barbados went awry, and signed him after a court order forced the club to sign more non-white players. As a result of this, Teflon Davis was transfer-listed and went on a drinking binge that resulted in his death. Rufus' performance was poor until he started wearing voodoo face paint. The team once had their summer break in Haiti at a hotel owned by Rufus’ uncle, an Elvis impersonator. He has a Jamaican accent, and believes that it may be because his relatives come from there. During the strip's hiatus he was forced to return to Haiti due to work permit problems, and while there he entered into a polygamous marriage, which he was only too happy to escape when Nick offered him the chance to return to Warbury. Tim Cavendish and Ryan Evans are the side's two reserve keepers. Scrapper Griswell plays defence. He had anger-management problems, and was a target for opposing players (despite his great stature). He has had two stints in prison: one when he was falsely accused of rape, and another when he broke into the office of the club's owners in 2002 to find out what their plans for the club were. His wife is Bertha, a stewardess at the club and a bog snorkelling champion. Their wedding ended in disaster when a flood forced their guests to swim to safety. After selling Warbury in 2009 he became a multi-millionaire, only to be swindled out of his fortune by a corrupt investment banker, forcing him to return to the club in 2013. Mehmet Hassan is a Turkish fullback, signed in summer 2006. Phil Austin is a homosexual defender. His partner is named Lance. He is currently Warbury's longest-serving player, having played for the club continually since around 1997, and being one of the few former members of Nick's team to remain at the club throughout the Sheikh's ownership. Gerald de Courcey is another defender, and formerly captain of the club. He has a degree in ancient Greek philosophy, but took up football after finding out that his degree was not helpful in finding a job. He is an intellectual snob, and will sometimes make intelligent-sounding arguments on subjects which have no truth behind them. He was once spotted reading The Joy of Sub-particle Physics in bed. de Courcey appears to have retired from football, having not been seen or mentioned since the strip's return in 2013. Kurt Panzer (a.k.a. Klaus Gerber) plays midfield, and is the club's no-nonsense captain. He is nicknamed "The Tank" and has an interest in military history. His favourite phrase is "Zat is very silly". During the strip's hiatus he played for various clubs in Germany, and was working for a sportswear company when Nick re-signed him in 2013. Groucho Mendoza is an Argentinian defender, known for his greasy mullet and unpleasant odour. His girlfriend, Eva Gerron, was forced into performing sex acts on Boris Anokov as an act of blackmail. Another of the few players who stayed at Warbury throughout the Sheikh's ownership. Joe Rock is a utility player, who generally prefers midfield. He was originally one of the main characters in The Premier and left the club after its new owner, a mafia boss, had him assaulted for questioning the running of the club. Joe was Nick's first signing after Li Ming took over, though after a few years found himself surplus to requirements, and was sold in the summer of 2008. Danny Brooks is a midfielder, signed from Manchester United in summer 2006. In late 2006 he accompanied Vanessa Openshaw, who was dating Fabian de Guisson at the time, to the cinema. Vanessa discovered Fabian there with another woman; he then accused her of cheating with Brooks. Callum Angelo is one of the team's main forwards. He had a troubled life due to his poor background (his mother, Donna, worked as a dominatrix in order to make ends meet, and continues to do so despite Callum's sizable income providing her with a comfortable lifestyle), but is one of the team's best players. Callum and Scrapper were sent to prison for breaking into the office of the club's owners in late 2002 to find evidence of suspicious goings-on. He was briefly set to transfer to Newcastle in 2004, but was stabbed by Chuck Rivers' former drug dealers and the transfer was called off while he recovered. He eventually moved to the Tyneside club, implicitly leaving Warbury in protest of Nick's dismissal by the Sheikh, but agreed to return to the club in 2013 out of loyalty to Nick. Fabian de Guisson is the side's other main forward. He joined from Paris St. Germain for £500,000 during Warbury's first Premiership season. He regards himself as too good for the club, and constantly talks of moving to a bigger team. He has a son, Romeo, from a one-night stand. He considered giving Romeo up for adoption, but changed his mind upon discovering that Romeo was a good footballer. In March 2007, Fabian's sexual-assault case brought by Celia Montgomery was dismissed when Fabian's lawyer lied about his mental condition. Fabian spent time in a mental hospital, where he argued with the patients and had sex with a doctor he thought was his; his real doctor diagnosed him with a severe case of narcissism. During the strip's hiatus he moved to LA Galaxy, though fled the country after a scandal in which he unknowingly took in a teenage runaway, and returned to Warbury on a cut-price contract. Fabian's trademark goal celebration is 'The Peacock Strut', which both the opposition and his own team mates see as him showing off and being arrogant, this celebration is particularly used after he has scored a solo effort or wonder goal. His son Romeo has also used this celebration. Ewan Merenghi is the side's first-choice forward. He was signed from Cowdenbeath, Scotland (also known as the Blue Brazil) and Nick signed him on the recommendation of a former teammate from Thamesford. He has dropped out of favour in the side, with new player Mikael Torvern preferred in front. On the team's trip to Los Angeles in summer 2007 Ewan got drunk and married Cindy, an American girl his teammates called a gold-digger. Cindy then revealed to Ewan that she had substantial money of her own, clearing up his doubts about her. Cindy was planning to divorce Ewan for half his money. Before she could do this she was murdered by her American ex-boyfriend, Kyle Banner. Despite falling out of favour, Ewan remained at Warbury during the Sheikh's ownership, and was restored to the team by Nick when he returned in 2013. As the side's lone competent striker his goals proved critical to Warbury's promotion challenge, thus it was a major blown when he suffered a season-ending injury with a month of the campaign left (though fortunately Warbury won promotion anyway). Mikael Torvern is a striker, signed in 2006. He soon began to score plenty of goals and firmly established his spot in the team, replacing Ewan Merenghi. Plot lines ;Li Ming Wong kidnapping: When Li Ming took over at Warbury, her father was unhappy about it. When Li began a relationship with Jarvis, her father ordered her to end it and fire him. She did, but eventually gave him his job back. During summer 2006, her father visited Li at Gasworks Road with her brother Chan. Li was attacked by thugs in the car park but fought them off, believing the attack to be orchestrated by her father. A short time later, Li was attacked by the same thugs at her house and kidnapped. The kidnappers demanded £2 million from Li's father. Li's father and brother went to the place where Li was being held with the ransom. Meanwhile, Li hatched a plan to escape from where she was being held. As Li's father and brother arrived she killed one of the three kidnappers, escaped and knocked the remaining two kidnappers out. She heard a single gunshot, and raced up to find her father lying on the ground. She turned to Chan for help, only to see that he was pointing the gun at her. Chan revealed he had shot their father and would do the same to her, as he was sick of being made to feel worthless by them both. Li pleaded with him; as he prepared to shoot, their father distracted him by calling out. Li kicked the gun out of her brothers hand; when Chan recovered his gun and prepared to shoot again, he stumbled and fell 150 ft down an unused mine shaft to his death. Li made peace with her dying father, who left his £15 billion fortune to her. ;Scrapper and Bertha's wedding: During summer 2006, Scrapper Griswell married his girlfriend Bertha. Since Bertha was a champion bog snorkeller, the wedding was held at a peat bog in Wales where the annual bog-snorkelling tournament took place. Rufus's Uncle Luis provided music and entertainment for the wedding. During the reception Fabian first made advances towards Vanessa Openshaw, taking her outside to a portable toilet for some privacy. However, Fabian's nanny Mona discovered what they were up to, and pushed the portable toilet over. Meanwhile, due to Scrapper's negligence the party was disrupted by a flood and the guests had to swim to safety through the bog. Fabian and Vanessa's portable toilet drifted out into open water; they were airlifted to safety, with a news report suggesting they used the toilet as a makeshift boat. ;Fabian in court: During February 2007 Fabian de Guisson began attending relationship counselling with his partner Vanessa Openshaw, with both claiming the other was cheating on them. The counsellor, Celia Montgomery, decided to see them both separately. At their first session, Fabian made advances towards her, Soon after, Fabian was signing copies of his autobiography Je Suis Magnifique at a Warbury bookshop, when he saw Montgomery. He asked her whether she would be pressing charges. As she struggled to get away, her dress caught in the door and came off, leaving her in her underwear in the street. Fabian ended up in court, accused of sexual harassment. The case went badly, however, Fabian's lawyer lied that he had acted because of a mental condition. As a result, Fabian was sent to a mental hospital. There, he made a plan to seduce his doctor so that she would sign his release papers. However, after he made love to the wrong doctor his real doctor arrived, diagnosing him with narcissism. ;Los Angeles trip: In summer 2007, Li Ming Wong organised a tournament in Los Angeles. A few days into the trip, Jarvis arranged for him, Eric, Scrapper, Gerald, Fabian, Phil and Callum to have a plane tour of the Grand Canyon. However, plane trouble soon forced the pilots to crash-land in the water. Scrapper took the others on a raft to go for help. However, the strong current blew the raft off course, leaving the five in the raft in danger and Jarvis and the two pilots stranded. With a flare gun and a rope from the cockpit, Nick and the pilots were able to pull themselves to safety. The players' raft went down a waterfall, leaving the five stranded in a clearing. Scrapper and Callum went to find food, as Gerald told Eric, Fabian and Phil the legend of Bigfoot. The anxious players hear a gunshot from the woods. Three hillbillies emerge and engage in conversation with the players before Scrapper returns with Callum, attacks the hillbillies and escapes with the rest of the team. They find refuge in a cave, and Scrapper volunteers to search for the nearest town. When the others awaken, they find a large, gorilla-like monster standing at the cave's entrance. Gerald screams, only for the "monster" to pull off its fake head and reveal itself as Scrapper. The hillbillies, he explained, wanted him to wear this costume to bring back tourists and make people think a Bigfoot-type creature lived there. Openshaw wanted to leave, and looked for Scrapper. When he sees a gorilla-type monster searching through a bin and calls it, Scrapper asked why he was shouting. They turned to see the real monster, and ran for their lives. ;Jim Sykes: Ewan Merenghi's agent, Jim Sykes, arrived early one season. Ewan's wife Cindy wished to be his agent and talked to Sykes about doing so. Sykes rejected Cindy's offer, but the two met at a hotel later on with Cindy attempting to bribe Sykes into accepting. During an investigation by the FA, it was discovered that Openshaw bribed Sykes during Merenghi's signing. Openshaw met Sykes and asked him for help, which Sykes refused. Openshaw went to church to pray for a way out; soon after, Sykes was found dead in his apartment from a gunshot wound to the head. Openshaw was arrested and questioned; his lack of an alibi and clear motive made him the prime suspect. Kyle Banner (Cindy Merenghi's ex-boyfriend), it turned out, killed Sykes to keep him from warning Merenghi about Banner. ;Story's conclusion in 2009: During the 2009 preseason Warbury toured China, during which Jarvis and Li Ming planned to marry. During a banquet, Li Ming informed the guests that she had arranged for Jarvis to become manager of China's national team so they could win the World Cup. Angry at not being consulted, Jarvis turned down the job offer. The wedding was called off, with Li Ming vowing revenge. She sold the club to Fabian, who thought he had a bargain until Jarvis and Openshaw told him the club no longer had a stadium or any players; instead, they had a points deduction for going into bankruptcy and failing to provide a team. The only asset the club had was a piece of farmland which could only be developed as a football stadium. Fabian sold the land to Scrapper, who thought he could use it for housing since Fabian did not disclose the football-stadium provision. As Scrapper and his wife surveyed their seemingly-worthless land, a wealthy sheik offered to buy it. The second ending of Striker After a strip failed to appear in the Saturday, 8 August 2009 issue of The Sun, Pete Nash sent an email to those complaining about its absence: Striker ended its second run in The Sun on 18 September 2009. Debut of Striker in Nuts On 26 January 2010, Striker returned in Nuts magazine. End of Striker in Nuts On 13 September 2010, Pete Nash announced on the Striker Fans Forum that Striker would cease publication in Nuts magazine effective 5 October. There were no plans for a return in another publication, since Nash wanted to focus his attention on "other projects".http://forum.striker3d.com/forum.aspx?g=posts&t=135 On Saturday 5 January 2013 front-page promotion appeared in The Sun stating "Striker returns on Monday". On Monday 7 January 2013 Striker returned to The Sun newspaper. References External links *Striker: The final whistle, The Sun *Final whistle is blown on Sun's Striker | The Sun |News Category:Comic strips started in the 1980s Category:British comic strips Category:1985 comic debuts Category:Media and communications in Southwark Category:British comics titles